A group of black-clad bikers rumbled into St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday to present Pope Leo XIV with a custom cruiser motorcycle destined for charity.
The pope met members of the Christian Jesus Bikers at the end of his general audience at the Vatican on Sept. 3. The motorcycle club rolled into Rome for a Jubilee of Hope pilgrimage after a three-day day ride from Schaafheim, Germany.
The pope blessed and signed the white BMW R 18 motorcycle before briefly climbing onto the seat to the bikers’ applause.
The custom-designed papal motorcycle will be auctioned off in Munich on Oct. 18, and the funds will benefit children working in mica mines in Madagascar through Missio Austria.
The director of Missio Austria, Father Karl Wallner, OCist., told EWTN News on Wednesday that the point of the pilgrimage was “not just fun and coming to see the pope, but also to help the poorest of the poor” through the project for exploited children.
Wallner said Pope Leo appeared to like the motorcycle a lot. At the audience, “he told the CEO of BMW that he himself liked to drive the motorcycle. So I think we have the first motorcycling pope…”
The two-cylinder boxer engine cruiser was given a papal redesign by the Witzel company in Germany, before taking to the road for the biker pilgrimage, which included daily Mass in churches along the way to Rome.
Around 30 members of the Jesus Bikers club also processed through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica before attending Mass together on Sept. 3.
One of the motorcyclists at the Sept. 3 audience, a Protestant from Berlin who goes by the name “Rocky,” told EWTN News he joined the Jesus Bikers after finding the club on the Internet.
“The honesty and freedom attracted me,” Rocky said. “It’s not like other motorcycle clubs, where I have to prove myself for a year and perform certain rituals. I was accepted here, and a year later, I received my robe. You just have to be baptized, believe in Jesus Christ, and have a motorcycle. We want to pray, ride, and do good.”
Claus Dempewolf, who is responsible for those interested in joining the motorcycle club, expressed his satisfaction with the first leg of the ride in an interview with EWTN News earlier this week.
“The weather was perfect, the roads were good,” he said.
When asked who ultimately decides whether or not someone can become a member of the Jesus Bikers, Dempewolf replied: “That’s decided by our president and our road captain; our president is Jesus Christ, our road captain is the Holy Spirit.”
Pope Francis was an honorary member of the Jesus Bikers, which have over 100 members worldwide. The Argentinian pope also received a white motorcycle from the group in 2019.
Pope Francis also received two Harley-Davidson motorcycles and a motorcycle jacket in 2013 from Harley owners who gathered at the Vatican during a Rome celebration of the 110th anniversary of the iconic American street bikes.
One of the Harley Davidsons, with papal autograph, and the leather jacket brought in more than $350,000 for a Rome charity at an auction in 2014.
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Hannah Brockhaus contributed to this CNA article.
